XPost: rec.radio.info

********************************************
The ARES Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League ********************************************

April 19, 2023

Editor: Rick Palm, K1CE <k1ce@arrl.net>

IN THIS ISSUE

- ARES® Briefs, Links
- Tahoe Basin ARES Conducts Cyber Attack SET
- 2023 National Hurricane Conference Virtual Amateur Radio Workshop
- ARRL Ohio Section ARES NVIS Antenna Day
- Notable Events on the Timeline of Amateur Radio Disaster
Communications
- Field Day is Around the Corner: Emergency Communications Categories
- ARES® Resources
- ARRL Resources

ARES® BRIEFS, LINKS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a final
version (March 2023) of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Functional Guidance.
The guidance, which provides a framework for communications resources
within incident management, officially includes support from amateur
radio operators. The expanded Communications Unit (COMU) structure now
includes the Auxiliary Communicator (AUXC) role, which covers personnel
from services that provide communications support to emergency
management, public safety, and other government agencies. This includes
amateur radio.

NIMS guides government, non-governmental organizations, and the private
sector to work together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from
disasters and other emergencies. "This is a major step in the
recognition of the need and usefulness of amateur radio and other communications services in our national preparedness," said Josh
Johnston, KE5MHV, ARRL Director of Emergency Management. "It also gives official guidance to pave the way for future training and education of volunteers in ARRL's ARES® program, Johnston added.
The NIMS ICT guide <https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/documents/fema_ict-functional-guidance.pdf>
(PDF) is available from FEMA.

FEMA Region 3 (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia and West Virginia) Regional Emergency Communications
Coordination Working Group (RECCWG) members held their spring plenary
over two days, April 4-5, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There were
briefings from the Region 3 states, commonwealths, and the District of
Columbia on their communications systems and initiatives. RECCWG
partners provided topical presentations that informed RECCWG members of
current programs and support initiatives. Topics included:

- The FEMA National Radio System (FNARS) program
- Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Volunteer Support [emphasis
added].
- FCC overview of emergency response support capabilities and in-depth discussion of the Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) and Disaster Information Reporting System (DIRS)
- Verizon, FirstNet, and T-Mobile disaster response capabilities
- FEMA Disaster Emergency Communications Division (DECD) RECCWG and
State Annex support

On Day 2, RECCWG members participated in a tabletop exercise (TTX)
facilitated by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
(CISA), that simulated the effects an earthquake would have on public
safety communications in the region. The TTX focused on the "human
side" of continuity-of-operations planning (COOP). Participants shared
lessons learned and potential gaps in communications interoperability
to take back to their home agencies. Eric Wagner, Region 3 RECCWG
Co-Chair, emphasized that relationships established in the RECCWG
inevitably pay off when these partners need each other the most. This
two-day event exemplifies RECCWG efforts across the country to bring
together communications professionals from the public and private
sectors to solve today's toughest communications challenges. -- FEMA
Disaster Emergency Communications News Clippings and Topics of Interest
Vol. 12 Issue 7, April 1-15, 2023

2023 Eastern Healthcare Preparedness Coalition (EHPC) Hurricane
Communication and Information Sharing Exercise - to be held May 4,
2023, this exercise covers North and South Carolina, Virginia, West
Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida,
Georgia, and Mississippi. "Hopefully, this will prepare us all for any
eventual real-life request to provide information about our immediate environment should it be required," said Steve Waterman, K4CJX <k4cjx@comcast.net>, [DHS CISA SHARES Auxiliary (Winlink Admin); FEMA
R4 RECCWG AuxComm Committee, Chair; Tennessee Emergency Management
Agency COMU, Williamson County, Tennessee]. Waterman added: "Having a successful showing will certainly re-enforce the capability and use of
what is offered to our civil authorities and their NGO partners by
illustrating that they can depend on us for situational awareness from
our respective geographical areas." More information is available here <https://subsplash.com/easternhealthcareprepare/media/ms/+xkh5nfj>.

TAHOE BASIN ARES CONDUCTS CYBER ATTACK SET

South Lake Tahoe with its high volume of winter tourism in the region
was a perfect test bed to practice emergency communications without
using traditional methods such as phone, text, or email. Thus, the
Tahoe Basin ARES (TB-ARES) held a cyber-attack simulated emergency test
(SET) on March 18, 2023 to demonstrate the ability to communicate with
the various involved emergency centers both in California and Nevada
that would now be dependent upon radio communication only.

The scenario was described as mass outages of all telecommunications services throughout the South Lake Tahoe basin and its corresponding communities across the state line in northwestern Nevada. The situation
was described as continuing to worsen with sweeping blackouts in
various portions of the region. Panic was evident among the citizens as
roads were becoming gridlocked to buy supplies, such as groceries, and
fuel from localities not currently experiencing a loss of power.
Additionally, lines at banks formed due to fears that credit/debit
cards may be unusable, and citizens were withdrawing cash at an
alarming rate. The situation was further complicated by civil unrest.

Simulated Net Control stations were set up at the EOCs in South Lake
Tahoe (California) and in Minden on the Nevada side. Additional
operators also simulated communications from various hospitals,
shelters and mobiles on both sides of the state line. Ham radio
operators were to act as if they were physically at each location
during the SET.

For this simulated cyber-attack, the ICS-205 (Communications Plan)
called for Winlink packet Peer to Peer, and Winlink Gateways accessed
both direct and through a digipeater. Additionally, simplex FM voice frequencies were active to provide communications over the Sierra
Nevada range. Again, only radio station communications powered by a
generator, battery backup and handhelds were in play.

This allowed the participating TB-ARES members the ability to
communicate with out-of-area agencies using only amateur radio
emergency power resources. Procedures and traffic used:

- Structured messages to practice correctly utilizing ICS forms for
official messaging
- Health and welfare messaging to the designated PIO in our area
- Receive situational utility reports from both agencies and
individuals in the affected areas.

The goal was to provide timely and accurate communication to the Tahoe Emergency Operations Center (EOC) so that appropriate action/reaction
would be generated, as needed.

The TB-ARES Emergency Communications Officer, Michael Cullen, KM6UWG,
was very pleased with the result of the SET, notwithstanding a few
lessons learned regarding the ability (or lack thereof) to communicate
over the mountain summit from the basin. Yet you could say all
communications were sent and received through the efforts of those
relaying messages through simplex -- a real team effort ending in
another successful exercise of our radio equipment and Amateur Radio
operators. -- Cathy Etheredge, AC7CE <ac7ce@arrl.net>, Public
Information Coordinator, ARRL Nevada Section

2023 NATIONAL HURRICANE CONFERENCE VIRTUAL AMATEUR RADIO WORKSHOP

Amateur radio was again represented at the 2023 National Hurricane
Conference <https://hurricanemeeting.com/> which was held this year in
New Orleans, Louisiana. This year, the workshop was conducted both live
at the conference and over Zoom for a "hybrid workshop." The conference
theme was to improve hurricane preparedness, as it has been in past
years. After the workshop was completed, the Amateur Radio Workshop was uploaded to YouTube <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucHdnXIoY3U> for
those who couldn't attend the sessions live. For 2023, all the amateur
radio sessions were conducted on April 3. Each presenter gave not only
an overview of their respective group but also how their group handled
the significant hurricanes over the past year.

Bob Robichaud, VE1MBR, from the Canadian Hurricane Centre presented on Hurricane Meteorological topics including the last two years in review
and the forecast for 2023. Julio Ripoll, WD4R, presented on WX4NHC, the National Hurricane Center amateur radio station <https://w4ehw.fiu.edu/#:~:text=WX4NHC%20Amateur%20Ham%20Radio%20at%20National%20Hurricane%20Center>,
operations and an overview on the Hurricane Watch Net
<https://www.hwn.org/> (HWN). A representative from the National
Hurricane Center also presented on the importance of Amateur Radio
surface reporting.

Rob Macedo, KD1CY, presented on the VoIP Hurricane Net
<https://voipwx.net/> and best practices in SKYWARN Tropical Systems.
Bill Feist, WB8BZH, presented a SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency
Response Radio Network <https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/usc/satern-program/>) overview.
ARRL Director of Emergency Management Josh Johnston, KE5MHV, gave an
ARRL update.

ARRL OHIO SECTION ARES NVIS ANTENNA DAY

The ARRL Ohio Section ARES NVIS Antenna Day is a non-contest operating
activity open to all radio amateurs. This year's event is scheduled for
April 22. In the case of an emergency, amateur radio operators may need
to communicate over short distances to stations within the state of
Ohio and neighboring states. The value of short-distance HF
communications was proven in the immediate wake of Hurricane Michael in
2018. Michael disrupted all communications along the Gulf Coast. Many
radio amateurs resorted to 80-meter local contacts, including the North
Florida Traffic Net, for emergency communications. Because repeaters
were down, HF proved to be the workhorse for passing messages.

Temporary NVIS (Near Vertical Incidence Skywave) antennas are the
technology to do this with, but which are the best designs? In
addition, how does your antenna work? Experimenting with antennas is
still one of the most fun aspects of the hobby. Tie the two purposes
together, add a group of friends, plenty of coffee, a BBQ grill, and
you have a formula for a really good time!

The Ohio State EOC Amateur Radio station in Columbus, "The Sarge" -
W8SGT, will be in operation to compare signals and provide a consistent
signal strength report. Remember the overall goal is still to figure
out your best NVIS antenna, and contact as many other NVIS stations as
possible to plot your coverage area. Take pictures! Submit your antenna evaluations: which designs you used, how they performed, etc., and
submit a log report with overall number of contacts, your location and operators. -- Blair ARES Alert!, April 2023 issue, newsletter of the
Blair County, Pennsylvania, ARES program [Emergency Coordinator Kevin
Lear, W3XOX <w3xox@hotmail.com>; Editor Drew McGhee, KA3EJV
<ka3ejv@arrl.net>]

NOTABLE EVENTS ON THE TIMELINE OF AMATEUR RADIO DISASTER

COMMUNICATIONS

Far from an exhaustive list, here are a few events involving amateur
radio communications support over the past 100 years that may help
define our role over time and its evolution.

1906 -- According to family lore, radio amateur Barney Osborne, later
W6US, provided emergency traffic handling during the San Francisco
Earthquake and fire.

1913 -- Hams provided emergency communications during Midwest storms
and floods with spark-gap transmitters and crystal receiver sets, as
vacuum tubes wouldn't emerge until after World War I and 1919.

1916 -- A national traffic relay system was organized to provide relay
of messages cross-country, and 9XE in Illinois originated a message
that was received in California in 55 minutes, and on the East Coast an
hour after that.

1926 -- The cover of the May issue of QST featured a drawing of a
railroad engineer holding an ARRL Radiogram with the caption reading,
"Amateurs Give Emergency Service for Railroads When Wires Are Down"

1920s -- A motor provided emergency power to the plates of newly
invented vacuum tubes in a station of an "RM" -- a "Radio Man" --
during a Mississippi flood.

1925 -- Amateur radio provided the only communications (5 watts CW)
during the failed rescue attempt of caver Floyd Collins.

1933 -- Radio amateurs at W6BYF provided disaster communications for
the Long Beach, California earthquake. Although his house was
demolished, famous ham Don Wallace, W6AM, operated a portable station
through his surviving extensive antenna farm with the help of the Navy
in supporting the relief effort.

1935 -- Predecessors of ARES established. ARRL had a vision of them in
1917.

1936 -- The catastrophic floods of the northeast (from Maine through to
the Ohio River valley) wrecked the ARRL HQ station in Hartford (along
the Connecticut River), with amateur radio again providing support.
Famous VHF pioneer and ARRL HQ staffer Ed Tilton, W1HDQ, and his wife
provided communications.

1937 -- Dr. Joseph Vancheri, W8BWH, was a key relief communications
asset, arranging for aid to refugees from the Johnstown floods.

Late 1930s -- Commercial emergency amateur radio gear appeared and was advertised: an example was the battery-powered 50-S transmitter from
Harvey Radio Laboratories of Brookline, Massachusetts.

1948 -- Flooding of Vanport, Washington, after the rupture of a
Columbia River dike prompted an Amateur Radio Emergency Corps response
under EC W7DIS, with amateurs using handheld radios (walkie-talkies).

1957 -- RACES was involved in providing communications support during
the Malibu-Topanga Canyon (California) fires. Deputy Chief Radio
Officer W6QJW operated under RACES tactical call sign CPT19 and
controlled a net on 3995 kHz. The Gonset Communicator was an iconic
Cold War/Civil Defense portable transceiver.

1964 -- The Great Alaskan Earthquake hit Anchorage, drawing a massive
amateur response in handling emergency and health-and-welfare traffic.
It was the most powerful earthquake in North American history, and the
second most powerful in recorded history of the world. There was
sweeping destruction in the city and the region. George Hart, W1NJM,
wrote about the amateur response in the July 1964 issue of QST: 314
Alaskan amateurs supported the disaster relief effort, with 1,200 more
from around the rest of the country actively supporting them. "KL7DVY
reports he operated 20 hours on 2 meters, relaying messages from the
Alaska Native Hospital to c.d. headquarters in Anchorage." See the
August 2014 issue of QST, Public Service column, "Alaska Shield 2014."

1979 -- Hurricanes Frederic and David wrought destruction on the Gulf
Coast and East Coast, respectively. Amateur radio support of relief
efforts was in evidence in both cases.

That brings us up to the modern era and the emergence of the
contemporary emergency management model. A few of the major events
beginning in the 1980s that come to mind are hurricanes Gilbert (1988)
and Hugo (1989), and the spate of four hurricanes in 2004 that affected
us here in Florida extensively. Hurricane Andrew (1992) also wreaked
incredible devastation in Florida. Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Sandy
(2012) were game-changers for emergency management thinking and policy
for this country. Amateur radio was extensively involved in all cases.
And, of course, amateur radio was involved in the colossal relief
effort in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

[Much of the above was culled from an excellent presentation given at
the ARRL Pacificon convention in San Ramon, California, 2010, by Bart
Lee, K6VK, ARRL State Government Liaison, ARRL Volunteer Counsel,
Historian and Archivist, California Historical Radio Society, and
lecturer, Antique Wireless Society. A tip of the ARRL fedora to him. --
K1CE]

FIELD DAY IS AROUND THE CORNER: EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CATEGORIES

ARRL Field Day is the grandaddy of all emergency communications
exercises. One of the most popular activities on the ARES
communicator's agenda, it will be held this year on June 24-25. Below
are two classes of Field Day operation of special interest to the
emergency communications operator or group:

(Class E) Home stations - Emergency power: Same as Class D, but using
emergency power for transmitters and receivers. Class E may work all
Field Day stations.

(Class F) Emergency Operations Centers (EOC): An amateur radio station
at an established EOC activated by a club or non-club group. Class F
operation must take place at an established EOC site. Stations may
utilize equipment and antennas temporarily or permanently installed at
the EOC for the event. Entries will be reported according to number of transmitters in simultaneous operation. Class F stations are eligible
for a free VHF station. At Class 2F they are also eligible for a GOTA
station. For Field Day purposes, an Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
is defined as a facility established by: a) a Federal, State, County,
City or other Civil Government, agency or administrative entity; or, b)
a Chapter of a national or international served agency (such as
American Red Cross or Salvation Army) with which your local group has
an established operating arrangement. A private company EOC does not
qualify for Class F status unless approved by the ARRL Field Day
Manager. Planning of a Class F operation must take place in conjunction
and cooperation with the staff of the EOC being activated. A Class F
station may claim the emergency power bonus if emergency power is
available at the EOC site. The emergency power source must be tested
during the Field Day period but you are not required to run the Class F operation under emergency power.

See the full rules here <http://www.arrl.org/field-day-rules>. Catch
you on the air for Field Day 2023!

ARES® RESOURCES

- Download the ARES Manual [PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARESmanual2015.pdf>
- ARES Field Resources Manual [PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/ARES_FR_Manual.pdf>
- ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Fillable PDF] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-FILLABLE-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V2_1_1.pdf>
- ARES Standardized Training Plan Task Book [Word] <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/ARES/ARRL-ARES-STANDARDIZED-TRAINING-TASK-BOOK-V1_2_2.doc>
- ARES Plan <http://www.arrl.org/ares-plan>
- ARES Group Registration
<http://www.arrl.org/ares-group-id-request-form>
- Emergency Communications Training <http://www.arrl.org/emergency-communications-training>

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service® (ARES) consists of licensed
amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and
equipment, with their local ARES leadership, for communications duty in
the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur,
regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national
organization is eligible to apply for membership in ARES. Training may
be required or desired to participate fully in ARES. Please inquire at
the local level for specific information. Because ARES is an amateur
radio program, only licensed radio amateurs are eligible for
membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable,
but is not a requirement for membership.

How to Get Involved in ARES: Fill out the ARES Registration form <http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Public%20Service/fsd98.pdf> and submit
it to your local Emergency Coordinator.

ARRL RESOURCES

Join or Renew Today! <http://www.arrl.org/join> Eligible US-based
members can elect to receive QST <http://www.arrl.org/qst> or On the
Air <http://www.arrl.org/on-the-air-magazine> magazine in print when
they join ARRL or when they renew their membership. All members can
access digital editions of all four ARRL magazines: QST, On the Air,
QEX, and NCJ.

Subscribe to NCJ -- the National Contest Journal
<http://www.arrl.org/ncj>. Published bimonthly, features articles by
top contesters, letters, hints, statistics, scores, NA Sprint and QSO
parties.

Subscribe to QEX -- A Forum for Communications Experimenters <http://www.arrl.org/qex>. Published bimonthly, features technical
articles, construction projects, columns, and other items of interest
to radio amateurs and communications professionals.

Free of charge to ARRL members: Subscribe <http://www.arrl.org/myarrl-account-management#%21/edit-info-email_subscriptions>
to the ARES Letter (monthly public service and emergency communications
news), the ARRL Contest Update (biweekly contest newsletter), Division
and Section news alerts -- and much more!

Find us on Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/ARRL.org>. Follow us on
Twitter <https://twitter.com/ARRL_ARES>.

ARRL offers a wide array of products <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-store>
to enhance your enjoyment of amateur radio.

Donate <https://www.arrl.org/arrl-donation-form> to the fund of your
choice -- support programs not funded by member dues!

Click here <ads@arrl.org> to advertise in this newsletter, space
subject to availability.

________

The ARES Letter is published on the third Wednesday of each month. ARRL
members may subscribe at no cost or unsubscribe by editing their Member
Data Page at www.arrl.org/opt-in-out <https://home.arrl.org/action/My-Account/Opt-In-Out>.

Copyright (c) 2023 American Radio Relay League, Incorporated.
Use and distribution of this publication, or any portion thereof, is
permitted for non-commercial or educational purposes, with attribution.
All other purposes require written permission.

<http://www.arrl.org/>

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)